FAIR LANE FESTIVAL THE BURNING FIERY FURNACE

The Second Parable for Church Performance By BENJAMIN BRITTEN

Text by WILLIAM PLOMER

THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 6, 1967, AT 8:30 FAIR LANE, DEARBORN CAMPUS, THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Characters The Abbot, Twelve Monks, Four Acolytes and Eight Lay Brothers who

make up the cast of the Parable

N ebuchadnezzar ANDREA VELlS

The Astrologer (Abbot) EDWARD PIERSON

Ananias WILLIAM METCALF

Misael JOHN LANKSTON

Azarias ARA BERBERIAN

The Herald and Leader of the Courtiers DAVID FORSSEN

The Chorus of Courtiers William Caniff, Richard Christopher, Richard Eikenberry, David Forssen, Seth McCoy,

Neil Raber, Richard Shadley, Richard Vogt

Four Assistants (including Angel, Tumbler, Entertainers, Pages, etc.) Steven Chall, Douglas Hughes, Patrick Malone, Charles Nutile

The Instrumentalists (Lay Brothers) Arthur Granick, viola; James Brennand, bass; John Wion, flute; William Brown, horn;

Raymond DesRoches, percussion*; Francesca Corsi, harp; Robert Hauck, alto trombone; Julius Rudel, organ

* Small untuned drums, anvil (small untuned steel plate), two tuned wood blocks, portable glocken­spiel, Babylonian drum, multiple whip

This performance is made possible with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts.

SIXTH PROGRAM 1967 FAIR LANE FEsTIVAL COMPLETE SERIES 3571

89th Season of University Musical Society Presentations

Twenty-sixth program in the Sesquicentennial Year of The University of Michigan

THE BURNING FIERY FURNACE

Second Parable for Church Performance, Op. 77

PROGRAM NOTES

Britten's first Parable for Church Performance, Curlew River, was composed in 1964.

The libretto, by William Plomer, used as its basis a Japanese Noh play; but the original drama

Sumidagawa was re-conceived in the terms of a medieval English miracle play, with a band of Monks

presenting the Parable-the Mystery-before a Church audience.

For his new Parable, The Burning Fiery Furnace, the composition of which was completed in

April, 1966, William Plomer is again the librettist; and in conception the work must be regarded as a

companion piece to Cltrlew River, similar in style though less severe in mood and incident than the

earlier work. The forces involved are almost identical with those of Curlew River. The company of

Monks-it is again, of course, an all-male cast-furnishes the singers, and the Lay Brothers comprise

the instrumentalists. The conductorless chamber group consists of flute (piccolo), horn, alto trom­

bone, viola, double bass, harp, percussion and chamber organ. It is the trombone which is the new­

comer to the scene, and Britten, with his peculiar genius for exploiting the unsuspected potentialities

of an individual instrument, does not disappoint us on this occasion. Indeed, the unique color of the

scoring of The Buming Fiery Furnace is associated with the trombone, rather in the same way that

the unique color of Curlew River is associated with the flute. Britten achieved miracles of color in

Cttrlew River with a handful of instruments, but the addition of one instrument to the chamber

orchestra in The Burning Fiery Furnace opens up a whole wealth of new instrumental colors and

instr!.lmental combinations. The nature of the instrumentation, trombone apart, gives us some clues

to the location and character of the drama. For example, in addition to an assembly of generally

exotic percussion we find small cymbals, a "little harp," and, most revealing of all, a Babylonian drum.

And these specific colors are peculiarly appropriate, because the action of the Parable takes place in

Babylon in the 6th Century B.C., and is based on the famous story from the Book of Daniel, when

the faith of the three young Israelites, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias, is tested by Nebuchadnezzar

in the fiery furnace.

Although the libretto has a Biblical source, the treatment of the drama runs on parallel lines with

Curlew River. Once again the Monks process to the acting area, singing a supremely beautiful plain­

song, SaltlS aeterM, which proves, as did Te Iuds ante terminum in Curlew River, to be the main

source of the work's musical materials: the formative contours of the plainsong, however much trans­

formed or modified, are present throughout.

After the procession of Monks and Lay Brothers is over, the Abbot (baritone, who also sings the

Astrologer) announces the theme of the Parable, the ordeal of the three young men of Israel, brought

to Babylon to govern three provinces. As at the comparable point in Curlew River, there is now an

instrumental interlude, the "robing music," while the Monks assume the costumes of the roles they

are to play in the ensuing Parable. The heterophonic texture of the "robing music," built on and

about the plainsong, is only one of the many passages in the new work which remind us of the

precedents established in Curlew River.

The Herald (baritone) proclaims the feast that is to be held in honour of the three youths, and

then suitably ceremonious music precedes and accompanies the entry of Nebuchadnezzar (tenor),

who re-names the youths in Babylonian style-Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego-before the feast

actually begins (but without the youths, who politely decline to participate).

Their abstention is at first not noticed, because of an entertainment that is given to the guests

by two singers (boys' voices) and a tumbler. This delicious, catchy set piece is followed by an angry

denunciation of the youths by the Astrologer, who accuses them of insulting Babylonian manners.

"When in Babylon, dine as the Babylonians dine," he says. The youths explain that they must abide

by "the sacred rules of Israel," and their refusal to compromise their own beliefs is used by the wily

Astrologer to whip up hostility against "the foreigners," whose arrival, of course, threatens his

own power.

The youths confidently assert their faith (the plainsong, symbol of their faith, is firmly woven

into the texture of their music at this point) and calmly await their fate. The Courtiers are ordered

to worship an image of gold-those that will not, "shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery

furnace." The Courtiers form into a procession, led by the musicians. It is here that the exotic instru­

ments come into their own: we have the Babylonian drum, small cymbals, little harp and glocken­

spiel, combining with flute, trombone, horn and viola in a fantastic March which is one of the most

reffiarkable inventions in the score. Not only a feat of instrumental imagination, needless to add, but

also an astonishing feat of counterpoint : each instrument has its own characteristic theme (or

rhythm) and at the climax of the March all the themes are simultaneously combined.

The image of gold appears, but though the Courtiers bow down before it, the youths remain

aloof, even throughout the great hymn of Babylonian worship. The Astrologer accuses them again,

this time of open rebellion, and Nebuchadnezzar himself-unable to shake their faith-()rders the

furnace to be heated. The youths are dragged off and cast into it.

But-a miracle! The three young men are standing in the midst of the fire, and there is a fourth

figure (a protective angel of God) at their side. This is one of the most graphic moments in the

score: Britten's "fire" music, which grows in incandescence as the temperature rises. The flames part

to reveal the youths unharmed and singing the Lord's praises from the heart of the furnace, at which

point the sudden stillness--the cessation of the "fire" music-is as moving as the brilliant instrumental

depiction of the tongues of flame has been exciting. The youths step out, summoned forth by the

astonished Nebuchadnezzar, untouched by fire.

The Astrologer is routed and dismussed, Nebuchadnezzar converted, the image of gold falls, and

the King, his Courtiers, and the three young men unite in praise of God. The "robing music" returns,

but this time the Monks divest themselves of their costumes. The Abbot addresses the congregation

and draws the moral: "Gold is tried in the fire, And the mettle of man In the furnace of humiliation."

To the opening plainsong, Salus aeterna, the Monks process out of the Church. The Parable has been

played, the Mystery enacted, and the work ends with a long Amen.

The first performance of The Burning Fiery Furnace was at the Caramoor Festival, Katonah, New York, on June 25, 1967. The staff was:

Musical Director Stage Director Costume Designer Technical Director Choral Director Organ

JULIUS RUDEL

BLISS HEBERT

LLOYD EVANS

I)QNALD SWINNEY

RICHARD VOGT

courtesy, Trinity Church, Katonah, N.Y.

The exhibition of paintings on display here at Fair Lane on July 5 and 6 is from The Forsythe Gallery of Ann Arbor :

Chung Che Richard Wilt King Calkins William Lewis Carol Summers Alecos Condopoulos Milton Kemnitz Chet LaMore Richard Wilt Rafael Coronel Winifred Klaren Lee Weiss Louise J. N obili

Hunter Apache Trail #2 Poppies Big Red Dark Rainbow Image I Detroit Towers Canyon Country at Dusk Antigua Suenos Antiguos VII Gold Coast Rock Garden On the Veranda

FAIR LANE FESTIVAL

ink acrylic acrylic oil wood cut oil acrylic oil watercolor oil colage watercolor oil

Dearborn Campus, The University of Michigan

First Announcement of an additional Special Concert

YEHUDI MENUHIN and THE BATH FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA

SATURDAY, JULY 15, 8:30

CORELLI-COncerto Grosso No.2, F major, Gp. 6 MOZART-Concerto for Piano, K. 271 BACH-Concerto for Violin, E major BRITTEN-Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge